Padding is crucial. When the director needs to roll the video into the show, they need video padding prior to the first audio to avoid up-cutting the audio when the video is switched on-air. Just that extra couple seconds of padding makes a difference to ensure a smooth transition from the studio to the video. Additionally, the director needs padding after the last audio so that the video doesn't go to black before they have the chance to switch back to the studio.

As a guideline for padding:

2 seconds of video before the first audio

10 seconds of video after the last audio. Allow the last video from the sig-out to continue. Don't cut to another shot for padding. The padding shouldn’t contain any SOT unless the sound is natural (ambient or NATS). Visual padding shouldn’t contain any “bumps” or shakes by the camera. Padding is also a continuation of the shot that we see when we hear the first audio or the last audio. Don't cut to another shot and call that padding.